A little suspense, magic to kill some time

Jul. 21, 2007

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The Frankfort Community Public Library, 208 W. Clinton St., Frankfort, is a winner of the 2006 Institute of Museum and Library Services Award.

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Suspense with an eternal message

Rescued

By John Bevere

The preacher of a mega-church and his chosen elite are being rewarded with a cruise. While touring a submarine they experience a $12 million yacht crashing into them.

Will any of them be rescued? Or will they meet the fate they have chosen by the lives they have lived?

This book is a great, suspenseful read that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Rescued shows how when people face death, their lives flash before them. Then it is too late to live life right. By that point, they have chosen their own fate for all eternity.

This book shows how many are being deceived. Truth is often revealed and faced during tragedies. This book contains the truths of life, death and judgment.

This book will grip its readers with many emotions. It will cause them to examine their own lives with its eternal and life-changing message.

-- Review by Glenda Buchanan, West Lafayette

Hoffman's latest offers some hope

Skylight Confessions

By Alice Hoffman

If you peruse the new fiction section of your library, you'll be sure to find a copy of Alice Hoffman's 19th novel, Skylight Confessions. This novel, written in the magical realism style Hoffman is known for, tells the story of a very lost and disjointed family, living in a literal glass house in rural Connecticut. Arlyn Singer is just 17 when, on the night her father dies, she decides that the man she is meant to love will walk down the street and into her life.

The cold and practical John Moody happens to be the man on her street that night, and from the moment they meet, the two are powerfully drawn to one another, despite the fact that their marriage is destined to bring both of them enormous grief. Hoffman writes the story of Sam, their brilliant, self-destructive son; Blanca, a loner who desperately loves her brother and lives in a world of books; and Will, their grandson, who is left to unravel the mysteries of a broken family.

While not exactly uplifting, the pages do contain some hope along with the heartache, and Hoffman fans will likely appreciate her eerily grounded style of writing.

Like millions of other people, I eagerly awaited today's release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. To appease my need and love for quality youth literature, I picked up The Snow Spider (The Magician Trilogy: Book One) by Jenny Nimmo.

The Snow Spider is set in 20th century Wales. Elements of fantasy are introduced when the main character, Gwyn Griffiths, begins his journey to find his calling. The story is quickly set in motion when Gwen's grandmother brings him five unusual birthday presents -- a piece of seaweed, a scarf, a whistle, a brooch and a small, broken horse -- and gives him two directives.

"Time to find out if you are a magician," she says, adding, "Time to remember your ancestors."

Nimmo includes bits and pieces of Welsh folklore and mythology which enriches this enchanting story.

The Snow Spider packs a great story into a fairly small book. It will have you rushing to get your hands on Emlyn's Moon (The Magician Trilogy: Book Two). Young and old readers alike will enjoy reading this delightful tale.

Winner's memoir of conversion explores Christianity with a bookworm's delight. Her search for a religion that is satisfying and true verges on the feverish, and I found myself caught up in the intensity of her longing. Her journey takes the reader through the Christian year, from Advent to Pentecost, exploring the Jewish background of these seasons.

She overlaps her understanding of Judaism with her Christianity, and the result is a many-layered dish that is at times refreshing, sometimes provocative, and nearly always entertaining. Her exuberance for intertwining these faiths is infectious. It brings to mind C. S. Lewis' assertion in Mere Christianity that Christian faith is spread by "good infection."

When I was in seminary, I remember studying the theological history of confession, and this study helped me grasp why the idea was important. But Winner's explanation of confession has such a passionate earthiness to it that I felt I truly understood it for the first time. Seldom have I seen Christian pedagogy so vibrant and accessible.

-- Review by Tom Smith, Head of Reference Services, Franklin Community public library